New medical foundation invests in COVID-19 research funding – News – The University of Sydney

Snow Medical founder Terry Snow said: COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on Australia and the world this is the biggest thing to hit the globe since 1945 and it will have a lasting impact for years to come. Government has stepped up and now is the time for the community to play a role. All these measures are aimed at getting Australians back to work, making treatment more effective and efficient and getting our economy working again.

Snow Medical chair, Tom Snow, added: We want to help Australias best and brightest to focus their efforts on this huge national and global challenge.

This consortium is particularly notable because of its national reach and collaborative networks it draws on research expertise from over 15 universities and medical research institutes, their affiliated public hospitals, state health departments, public health authorities, pathology services and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to provide a truly national picture and coordinated approach to beating COVID-19.

Professor Tania Sorrell who is director of the University of Sydneys Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Infectious Diseases Group head in The Westmead Institute of Medical Research and the lead investigator in CREID said: This very generous donation will help Australia lead in the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the community, better protect health care workers, and offer the best care to individual patients.

Critically, the vision of Snow Medical has enabled CREID and APPRISE to leverage the joint power of their national research networks in the fight against COVID-19.

Professor Sharon Lewin, director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and chief investigator for APPRISE said: The large injection of funds supports the development of critical national platforms for the current pandemic while building capacity for future pandemics."

Infectious diseases physician and trials expert at the University of Sydneys Faculty of Medicine and Health, Professor Tom Snelling, who will be leading the data science project, said: Australias brisk and effective response to COVID-19 is the envy of many countries but we cant afford to become complacent. This donation will give researchers a critical boost in their race to find and implement science-driven solutions for the pandemic.